The Magician's Sons

Chapter 59

The fog and darkness were blinding, but in the glimmer of a distant lamppost, Norman could just make out the shape of a policeman. He and Reuben were losing hope. They had come to Smithfield after visiting Mr. Harvey. But even there, they had had no luck. They had only one plan left, and if it failed, they had determined to go home.

"Excuse me, officer," Reuben began, approaching the constable, "we have a question for you."

"Need some directions, sir?" the officer responded pleasantly.

"No. I am Inspector Hart. We are searching for a missing child whose name is Copernicus. A suspicion led me to think it was possible that two of his friends were searching for him here."

Reuben did his best to describe all three of the people he wished to find. The policeman listened carefully. Then he shook his head. "I haven't seen or heard of any of the persons you've mentioned. But we can check at the station and see whether a lad's shown up there. If he's lost, he might have gone lookin' for help. There's a good chance his friends may have gone there lookin' for him too!"

"We have already asked at the station," Norman replied sadly. "There has been no sign of them there. We were hoping you would have seen them more recently."

"Then, I'm sorry, I can't help you. I've seen a number of scamps and people runnin' about, but none by that description. The lads in this part of town are all poor and ragged. I would've noticed if a boy in decent clothes had been roaming around lookin' lost. I really am sorry, sirs—and believe me, I'll keep a wary eye out for such a lad in the future."

"Thank you," Reuben sighed downheartedly. "Come Norman, we must go home now."

The feeling of remorse and hesitance in Norman's heart was painful. How could he leave without righting what he had done wrong? How could he sleep knowing that his only brother was suffering in the cold? He had never felt so worried in his life.

Norman and Reuben had only just turned to leave. Their carriage was quite a distance away, and they had a fairly long walk ahead of them. But they had hardly taken a few steps before they were stopped by a shout down the road. Looking back, they saw an enormous man rushing toward them.

Bob felt relieved that his guess had been right. The policeman was just where he had expected him to be. He ran his hardest until he finally reached the officer's side.

"Woah now! What's goin' on?" the constable asked in alarm.

Out of breath from his sprint, Bob took a gasp of air and stammered, "Me boss bagged the boy, an' the boy's tied up down on Wormwood Street, an' unless the bludger's booked, he'll croak the kid an' his goose'll be cooked!"

"Say what?" the policeman asked in confusion.

"He's gonna murder the boy!" Bob cried.

"Who?" The constable gave a start, and both Reuben and Norman waited on pins and needles for the answer.

"Webb! I mean Dross—" As Bob stammered recklessly, echoes and scenes from the past suddenly struck him with a staggering realization. "No," he corrected himself, eyes widening, "it is Webb!" For the first time, he knew it without a doubt. He remembered himself shouting that name time after time. In his memories, the thundering of sails and the lapping of the ocean sounded in his ears. Just what it meant, he couldn't tell, but he knew the name of his villain now.

With the revelation, something inside of Bob changed. He felt like a missing piece of him from long ago was being given back. Suddenly, collected and steady, his voice spoke with startling clarity. "There is a boy who has been kidnapped on Wormwood Street. And if we don't move now, it will be too late! Webb means to murder him, and I know he has no qualms about it! You're either coming, or you're not! I won't wait for you!" Turning around, Bob started running again.